


Tally Marks

by obsessedwithrandomthings



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Eventual Fluff, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Post-Hogwarts, Romantic Fluff, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-09
Updated: 2020-11-09
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:00:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27473173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/obsessedwithrandomthings/pseuds/obsessedwithrandomthings
Relationships: Neville Longbottom & Reader, Neville Longbottom/Reader
Kudos: 42





	Tally Marks

Draco Malfoy and you were cousins, and sometimes you wished you were a Malfoy or literally from any other family but life at other plans and you indeed were a Lestrange. When the war had ended, much to your displeasure you had to plan a funeral for your mother, who you hadn’t spoken to for a very long time. You’d spend your holidays at the Malfoys or at Hogwarts, you didn’t mind either honestly.   
At Hogwarts, you loved being a Slytherin, you were in the year below Draco and had made some really good friends. However, in the process you had also developed a crush on Neville Longbottom, and you were the last person he even wanted to look at. So, while your social life was booming, your grades were great, you were a chaser on the quidditch team, your love life took a massive hit.   
Marcus Flint asked you out a date when you were in your 5th year and ran into him in Diagon Alley. Draco asked him to piss off the minute the words left his mouth, he was fairly old and you were glad Draco let him down on your behalf. After that, Blaise tried his level best to get you to go out with him, but you couldn’t be bothered, the only person you wanted to date was Neville Longbottom and you were rather open about that fact.  
However, this was all back when you were at Hogwarts. Things were different back then and now that the war had ended, it was another story all together. You had tried you best to push any thoughts about Neville out of your mind but obviously your dear cousin wasn’t going to help the cause.  
“You have to come with me, I really can’t go alone – plus Ron said it would be okay if I got you with me, more the merrier – you know?” Draco said as he walked around in your apartment.   
You sighed, “Okay firstly, all of those people are from your year – other than Ginny who I’ve spoken to maybe twice,” you paused and looked at him, “second and more importantly, I really don’t think I can face Hermione, Neville, Harry or any of the Weasleys, my mother has done some really bad things to all of them and I just can’t.”   
“She’s dead and my mother was more of a mother figure to you than Bellatrix ever was, you know that,” Draco argued, and you knew he was right. You knew it, he knew it but the others didn’t.   
“I’ll think about it, okay?”  
And so you did. You spent the next two nights thinking about it. The occasion sounded fun. Ron and Hermione were engaged now and they weren’t interested in having a separate hen do and stag do, and so they both decided to go on a trip together with all their friends. Miraculously, Draco was invited too. He was in the process of making amends, and Ron figured it would be a good opportunity for everyone to let loose.   
You finally decided to say yes and go with Draco, what’s the worse that could really happen? If it went horribly, you could simply apparate back to your apartment and pretend like it never even happened.   
\--  
Draco and you stood at Kings Cross Station as you waited for everyone to arrive. It had been over two years since you had seen any of them. You looked around nervously as you saw Neville walking towards Draco and you.  
“Do I look okay?” you asked, looking at Draco and he nodded his head as you saw him extend his hand for Neville to shake. Both of them exchanged a quick ‘hello’ as Neville turned to look at you.   
You bit your lip nervously as you waved at him, “hey Neville, it’s been a while,” you said, giggling nervously. Merlin, you felt like you were at Hogwarts all over again and your school girl crush came flooding back, only a lot harder this time.   
Neville looked great. He had definitely been working out, he even had a tattoo on his arm, they were tally marks – you were curious to know what they signified but obviously you couldn’t ask him, or could you?  
You heard Draco clear his throat and you looked at him, he gestured towards Neville, “he just asked you something.”  
Your eyes widened as you looked at Neville, “you did?”  
Neville smiled and nodded, “just asked how you were doing, that’s all. You okay? You look a little nervous?”  
You giggled again, “I’m alright, yeah. Uh – thank you, I suppose you’ve been well? I mean, you look well. I’m not saying that you look good, not that you don’t – because you look great, have you been working out? Not that I was checking you out or anything – just a general observation, I – I suppose?”  
“Please stop embarrassing yourself,” you heard Draco whisper from beside you.  
Neville chuckled a little, “well – thank you, I suppose?”  
Before you could respond, everyone else arrived. Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Harry, Luna, George, Fred and Angelina were all here as everyone exchanged pleasantries, you stood on the side and looked at them, you were happy for Draco – he needed this more than anyone else. Before you knew it, Neville came and stood beside you. You cursed under your breath as you embraced yourself for episode two of ‘how to make a complete and utter fool out of yourself in front of the man you’re attracted to,’  
“Am I making you nervous?” Neville asked, your shoulder touched his and you didn’t meet his eye. There was no way you possibly could, you were indeed nervous all thanks to him.  
You nodded gently, “maybe a little. I just – I haven’t seen you in so long, just a little overwhelmed I think?” You felt a little better admitting that. At least now he knew, so he’d probably leave you alone.   
“You weren’t this nervous back at Hogwarts when you had a crush on me,” he admitted as he glanced at you, but you didn’t look back.  
You shrugged, “I’m very sure if you actually had spoken to me to back then, I would have been just as nervous as I am right now.”   
Before he could respond, Hermione walked over to the two of you as you mentally thanked her for it.   
“Right, so Ron and I are sharing a room, Fred and Angelina, Harry and Ginny, Luna and George, and Draco is taking the single one because he doesn’t like sharing, and that leaves both of you in one, hope that’s alright,” she said, rather quickly. You could tell she was the one who had taken the responsibility of planning the whole trip.   
Neville nodded from beside you, “yeah, I don’t mind as long as you’re okay with it?” he asked, looking at you.   
“Yes – sounds good to me.”   
\--  
The train journey wasn’t too long since you slept through most of it, keeping your interaction to minimum. While Draco conversed with everyone easily, you were still struggling. You couldn’t push back the thought that they still hated you because of who your mother was. They had all been incredibly kind to you, but to you it felt more like a moral obligation.   
When you reached Edinburgh, Hermione briefed you all on how this was a muggle holiday and the use of magic would be bare minimum, only in case of emergencies. She had booked a really cottage and as soon as you all reached, everyone decided to go to their rooms for a power nap.   
Neville and you stood in your room as both of you looked at the one queen sized bed in the middle of the room.   
“I can take the couch if you like?” Neville asked, clearly having read your thoughts.   
You shook your head, “no it’s alright, we’re adults – I’m sure we can manage on one bed.” As soon as you said that, you built a pillow wall in the middle, making Neville chuckle,  
“Afraid you won’t be able to keep your hands off me?” he asked, rather confidently. You tried your best not say something stupid, but you had convinced yourself that wasn’t going to happen.  
You shrugged, “I just – I move a lot when I sleep, I wouldn’t want to disturb you, that’s all.”  
Neville nodded, “alright – pillow wall it is then. I’m going to go take a shower now.”  
With that he walked into the bathroom as you fell face first into your pillow and screamed into it.   
“I just came to get my towel. Are you okay, love?” Neville asked, clearly amused by the situation. You were too embarrassed to say anything so you just nodded into the pillow and mumbled a quick ‘yes’ and thankfully after that you heard the bathroom door close.   
Before you knew it, you had fallen asleep. However, the fact that Neville was in the shower didn’t help with the dirty thoughts that were clouding your mind.   
When you woke up, you had a blanket over you. You turned around as you saw Neville sitting on the bed, reading a book called ‘A Guide to Plants in Edinburgh.’ He noticed you woke up and he put his book down,   
“You looked cold so I put the blanket on you, I hope that’s alright,” he admitted, scratching the back of his neck.  
You nodded, “of course, thank you Neville.” Neither of you said anything so you continued, “interesting book you’ve got there – you really do love your plants, don’t you?”  
He smiled at you, “I do. I even got a tattoo of one recently.”  
You were now sitting up straight, “may I see?”   
He nodded, as he took his shirt off very confidently, oh he definitely had been working out. He pointed to his chest, “That’s a Sakura, or more commonly known as a cherry blossom, it symbolises new beginnings, got this one right after the war actually.”   
You smiled and without thinking twice your fingers brushed against it but you quickly snapped out of it when you realised it, “I’m sorry – I wasn’t thinking.”  
“It’s alright, I don’t mind it,” he confessed as he looked at you. Once again you felt shy under his gaze. You cleared your throat as you pointed to the tally marks on his arm,   
“What are those for?” you were curious about them since you saw him earlier today, and this was probably the best time to ask him about it.   
Suddenly, you noticed a change in his expression, he looked like he was struggling to string a sentence together in his head, “it’s for my mum and dad, one tally mark for each year that they have survived since, you know.”  
“Since my mother tortured them, yes I’m aware.” You paused to look at him, “I’m really sorry about that, I am. You parents didn’t deserve that, and neither do you – and I just wish I could do something but I can’t and I’m so sorry.”  
You didn’t even realise you had tears streaming down your face until Neville reached out wipe them gently with his thumb.  
“You’re not her – you’re nothing like her, so please don’t apologize.”   
Before you could respond, there was a knock on your door. It was Hermione asking you both to hurry up and meet everyone out front.   
Neville and you quickly got ready in silence, neither of you mentioning anything and went downstairs to join the rest of the group.   
Hermione finally addressed all of us, “right – so how many of you can drive a car in the muggle world, not flying and crashing it?” she raised her hand, so did Harry and then you. After the war you had moved to London and you hated taking the tube everywhere you went, so you decided to learn how to drive.   
“Brilliant, so Ron Fred Angelina and I can take one car, Harry Ginny and George in the other, and Luna, Neville, Draco and Y/N in the other?” everyone nodded in agreement, as you braced yourself for some more time with Neville, only in a very closed space this time.   
You sat in the car as Draco sat beside you and Neville and Luna at the back.   
“Everyone comfortable?” you asked as you looked at the rear view mirror and glanced at Neville, who was talking to Luna.   
Luna nodded, “very comfortable, this is my first experience in a car actually.”   
“You better put the seat belt on because she isn’t the best driver,” Draco said from beside you as he dramatically held on to his seat making you roll your eyes.   
“Oh piss off, it was one time – get over it,” you said as you began driving. You put some music on as you drove in silence.   
After a while, Luna decided to break the silence as she leaned ahead, “I’m sorry about your mother by the way.”  
You nodded, “she was alive longer than she deserved be, so it’s alright – but thank you, Luna. That is very kind of you.”   
You realised Neville had been fairly silent for a while now, after a lot of contemplation you decided to ask him about it, “Neville, you doing okay back there?”  
Neville nodded, “yeah, alright – just admiring the beauty really,” he said, as he looked at you through the rear view mirror.   
Before you could respond, Draco beat you to it, “you know, you can admire the beauty better from the front seat actually – if you’d like.”  
Neville felt heat rise to his cheeks, and luckily you had reached your destination so he didn’t have to respond to Draco’s comment. All of you got out of the car, you were the last ones to reach as everyone was already standing there, getting changed.   
Hermione looked at you, “alright, I packed everyone a change of clothes, bathing suits and everything, we’re taking a dip in the loch.”  
Your eyes widened, “but its freezing.”  
She shrugged in return, “we’ve come this far, we have to take a dip in the loch.”   
You nodded as you took the bathing suit from her. It was the last one left and you could tell why. It looked like the most complicated thing ever. You went into the changing room but you needed someone to help tie it from the back. You yelled out for Luna since she was in the one beside you but you heard no response.   
“Do you need help in there?” you heard Neville call out from inside. You felt yourself getting nervous, but you realised most of the people were already in loch, so you decided to take some help from Neville.  
“Uh – yeah, could you come and just tie a knot at the back please?” you called out, and within seconds you heard the door open and a very shirtless Neville stood in front of you. You quickly turned around as you felt his fingers on your, once he tied the knot, he didn’t move his hand, instead he traced soothing patterns on your back as you felt yourself relax under his touch.   
“You don’t have to be nervous around me,” he admitted as he stopped tracing his fingers, you sighed sadly at the loss of touch.   
You turned around to look at him, “I can’t help it. Merlin, it was easier when you ignored me back at Hogwarts,” you admitted, chuckling.   
You saw guilt wash over his face as he looked down, “I’m sorry about that. Your last name reminded me of a lot of bad memories and I couldn’t help it.”  
“And now?”   
He smiled at you gently, “and now all I want to do is talk to you and make up for all those years that I didn’t. It isn’t just because she is dead, it’s because a lot changed after the war – I changed a lot. I’m coping with things a lot better, I’ve learnt to separate people from their families.”  
You pulled him into hug, and within second you felt his arms wrap around yours as he hugged you back. Both of you embraced each other for as long as you could, neither of you wanting to let go. Much to your displeasure, you pulled away as you looked at him,   
“We – we should probably get going, I’m sure everyone is wondering where we are,” you said, and Neville nodded in responded.   
Both of you joined the everyone else in loch. The water was freezing cold but you loved every second of it. You felt like a massive weight had been lifted off your shoulders.   
Eventually it got darker, all of you grabbed some dinner and went back to the cottage and to your rooms.   
Neville and you changed as you put your sweater on because of how cold it was. Neville noticed that and handed you his sweater instead,   
“This one is warmer, it’ll help.” You took the sweater from him as you mumbled a quick ‘thanks.’  
Both of you got into the bed as you removed the pillows from the middle and saw Neville smirking. You rolled your eyes as the you pulled the duvet over both of you and turned to face him.   
“Thanks for this and just – for everything.” You paused for a few seconds and continued, “I wasn’t very sure about coming but I’m really glad I did.”  
Neville smiled at you, the same smile you used to spend all your meals looking at when you were in the Great Hall.   
“Okay then – goodnight Neville, it’s been a long day,” you said as you turned around and face the other side.   
“Can I hold you?” you could hear the nervousness in his voice and you nodded quickly. You felt him move closer as he wrapped his arm around you. You shifted closer, your back was now pressed against his chest.   
You sighed as you turned around, you looked at him as you held his face in his hand and leaned closer, “can I kiss you, Neville?”  
Without a doubt, he nodded his head as you pressed your lips against his. The kiss was needy and urgent. You pulled him closer as his left yours, you almost groaned at the loss of contact but instead a moan left your lips as he kissed your neck gently.   
You grabbed on to his hair as he bit your neck, you knew it would leave a mark but you didn’t care at this time. He pulled away and looked at you,   
“You look really cute in that sweater.” He said kissing you again. You felt his hand reach under the sweater as he grabbed your waist.   
You pulled away, “do you reckon I’d look cuter without it?” You could have sworn you saw his eyes darken as he quickly pulled his sweater off you and looked you,   
“If you need me to stop, just say the word – okay?” he asked without taking his eyes off you.  
You pulled him in for another kiss, “please don’t stop.”  
And he didn’t. Neither of you slept that night, both of you made up for all the years of not being together. Before you knew it, the sun had risen.  
You got off Neville as you laid down beside him, both of you trying to catch your breaths. You sighed happily and looked at him,   
“I can’t believe it’s 6 am already – we’re meant to leave at 7 for Hermione’s day out.”  
He pulled you closer as he traced his fingers down your arm, “or we could tell them you aren’t feeling too well, and I’m staying back to look after you?”   
You smiled, “I love that idea, maybe we could do more of this?” you asked, as you kissed his chest and went down lower but he stopped you.  
“Or we could do more of this in the shower?” he grinned as both of you got off the bed. Before you knew it, Neville had picked you up in his arms as he took you to the shower. He finally put you down when you were under it as he turned it on, hopping in with you.  
“Yeah – we definitely need to call in sick today, and maybe tomorrow too,” you admitted as you wrapped your arms around his neck.   
He pulled you in for a kiss, “I’d love nothing more than that.”  
\--


End file.
